Copernicus, Darwin and Freud
Revolutions in the History and Philosophy of Science
Published on 12. March 2009
296 pages
978-1-4443-0494-7 (ISBN)
Description
Using Copernicanism, Darwinism, and Freudianism as examples ofscientific traditions, Copernicus, Darwin and Freud takes aphilosophical look at these three revolutions in thought toillustrate the connections between science and philosophy.
* Shows how these revolutions in thought lead to philosophicalconsequences
* Provides extended case studies of Copernicanism, Darwinism, andFreudianism
* Integrates the history of science and the philosophy of sciencelike no other text
* Covers both the philosophy of natural and social science in onevolume
Reviews / Votes
"Whether used as a textbook or as a review of issues concerning scientific revolutions and theory change in their historical context, Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud may be strongly recommended." (The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, 2011) "Those seeking a more conventional approach to the history and philosophy of science may well find Weinert's book informative...there is much to be learned from Weinert's comparison of Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud." (Science & Education, January 2011)"Why is Darwin less the Copernicus than the Kepler of biology ?What are good criteria for scientific revolutions? Shift ofperspective? Replacement of paradigms? Reweaving conceptualnetworks? Explanatory gain? Restructuring the constraint space?Threatening worldviews? Whoever wants to learn more about these andmany other important issues of history & philosophy of sciencewill have to read on!" -Klaus Hentschel, full professor for history ofscience & technology, University of Stuttgart "Friedel Weinert has done a rare and excellent thing in thisbook: he has shown how the philosophy of science is intimatelyconnected with the development of physical, biological and socialsciences and that argument concerning the foundations of thesesciences cannot be advanced with out reference to philosophy. It isa clearly written and engaging book that will be informative forteachers, students and the lay public alike." -Robert Nola, Dept of Philosophy, the University ofAucklandMore details
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Person
Friedel Weinert is Professor of Philosophy at Bradford University and a former Visiting Research Fellow at Harvard University and Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Philosophy of Natural and Social Science at the LSE in London. He holds a PhD in Philosophy, a BA in Sociology, and a BSc in Physics. Dr. Weinert is the editor of Laws of Nature (1995), the author of The Scientist as Philosopher (2004) and chief editor of the forthcoming Compendium of Quantum Physics: Concepts, Experiments, History and Philosophy.
Content
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
I. Nicolaus Copernicus: The Loss of Centrality.
1. Ptolemy and Copernicus.
2. A Clash of Two Worldviews.
3. The Heliocentric Worldview.
4. Copernicus was not a Scientific Revolutionary.
5. The Transition to Newton.
6. Some Philosophical Lessons.
7. Copernicus and Scientific Revolutions.
8. The Anthropic Principle: A Reversal of the CopernicanTurn?.
Reading List.
Essay Questions.
II. Charles Darwin: The Loss of Rational Design.
1. Darwin and Copernicus.
2. Views of Organic Life.
3. Fossil Discoveries.
4. Darwin's Revolution.
5. Philosophical Matters.
6. A Question of Method.
Reading List.
Essay Questions.
III. Sigmund Freud: The Loss of Transparency.
1. Copernicus, Darwin and Freud.
2. Some Views of Humankind.
3. Scientism and the Freudian Model of Personality.
4. The Social Sciences beyond Freud.
5. Evolution and the Social Sciences.
6. Freud and Revolutions in Thought.
Reading List.
Essay Questions.
Name Index.
Subject Index
